158 Geothermal Power Plants: Principles, Applications, Case Studies and Environmental Impact

Table 8.1 Approximate values for U for several situations [58].

Fluids Overall heat transfer coefficient U

Btu/h  ft2 
F W/m2  K

Ammonia (condensing)  Water 150250 8501400

Propane or Butane (condensing)  Water 125135 700765
Refrigerant (condensing)  Water 80150 450850
Refrigerant (evaporating)  Brine 30150 170850
Refrigerant (evaporating)  Water 30150 170850
Steam  Gases 550 30285
Steam  Water 175600 10003400
Steam (condensing)  Water 1751050 10006000
Water  Air 510 2550
Water  Brine 100200 5701135
Water  Water 180200 10201140

The corresponding equations for the preheater are:


Q_ PH 5 UAPH LMTDPH ð8:14Þ

 ðTb 2 T5 Þ 2ðTc 2 T4 Þ
LMTDPH 5   ð8:15Þ
Tb 2 T5
ln
Tc 2 T4

Q_ PH 5 m
_ b cb ðTb 2 Tc Þ 5 m
_ wf ðh5 2 h4 Þ ð8:16Þ

The overall heat transfer coefficient U should be determined by experiment with

the appropriate fluids to be used in the plant. As a first approximation for preliminary
calculations, the values shown in Table 8.1 may be used [47]. The uncertainty is
large so caution is advised in the use of these values.
Since heat exchangers can be built in a variety of geometrical arrangements (e.g.,
shell-and-tube, plate, parallel flow, pure counterflow, multiple-pass counterflow, or
crossflow), there are correction factors that must be used with the equations given
above depending on the configuration, and the reader is referred to any heat transfer
book, such as Ref. [8], for more details.

8.2.5 Overall cycle analysis

Having analyzed each of the components of the basic binary plant, we can now sum
up by looking at the cycle as a whole. The cycle performance can be assessed by the
First Law using the thermal efficiency:
W _ net
ηth  ð8:17Þ
Q_ PH=E